Smile
by firetiger3
Summary: She had lost it all, her best friends, her former Sensei, even the one she had despised most. That had been six years ago, and yet it still hurt to smile, it hurt to forget about them. Her friends knew that they couldn't let her stay in the slump forever, and so they began to plan. NejiSaku.
1. How To Forget

Hey look, a story that's not a oneshot! It's a NejiSaku multichapter, but it probably won't have too many chapters... It's a bit OOC, I think, but oh well, I like OOC. D

This fic also started off as a few drabbles, I seem to be expanding a lot of my drabbles, don't I...? But, I decided I might as well make this another fic, I've been getting somewhat bored with my other one...

Actually, I've been working on this for a pretty long time, multitasking, ya know? So yeah. Please enjoy!

Reminder:

"Nya~" Talking

_'Nya~' Thinking_

_Nya~ Flashback_

'Nya' Thinking in Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Each smile hurt.

That's why she didn't anymore.

It reminded her of happier times, when they were still alive.

"They" of course being her Boys, the famous Team 7, both old and new members.

Six years, it had been six whole years since they had gone on that mission and ended up dying the process.

And it was all _His _fault.

Sasuke.

How she hated him with passion, the boy she had once poured all her affections.

But revenge wasn't an option, since he had died then too. And she hated him for that.

So here she stood in front of their graves, blatant tears coursing down her cheeks. She left them there, her Boys deserved it, what kind of person would she be if she didn't show her closest friends that type of emotion?

Her Boys had given their lives for peace, well, all of them except Sasuke, who was the root for much of the warfare. That mission was simple, split off, take down the remaining threats and then kill or capture the Uchiha Avenger by any means necessary. Sure, the mission had succeeded, but not without the loss of their own lives in return.

"It's... It's been six years, Boys. It's getting... l-lonely," Sakura struggled to say those words through her tears, each one had hurt more then the last. Remembering also hurt, that's why she hesitated too, but her mind disobeyed her, bringing back each painful second.

* * *

_Flashback Begin_

"_Tsunade-shishou, can I ask you something?" A 16-year-old Sakura stood tentatively infront of her Shishou, shifting nervously from foot to foot._

_Tsunade looked up from the mass amounts of paperwork stacked beside her, "Sure, Sakura. What do you need?"_

"_Well, I was wondering... Where is the rest of the team? I haven't seen them anywhere,"_

_There was a pause, one much to long for either's liking. "They insisted on going on a mission to, er, kill or capture Uchiha Sasuke. But, they specifically requested that you not go with them..."_

"_I see..." Sakura bit her lip before giving her an obviously fake smile. "I guess I'm just not strong enough, I suppose I'll just have to train more and get stronger!" _

_It was a solemn day the news arrived, and Tsunade summoned the remained of the Rookie Nine (plus Team Guy) to her office to break the news to them. _

"_You probably wonder why I've all called you here, correct?" She gave them no time to respond. "We have just received news of the "Elimination of Uchiha Sasuke" Mission. It appears, all who were sent have... died. The funeral will be held tomorrow,"_

_Almost immediately, all heads turned to Sakura, or rather, where she was once standing. After hearing the news she had Shunshined out and reappeared back home. All alone, so she could let those tears run free._

_She sat on her bed, holding two photos, one of the old Team 7, and the other one of the newer Team 7. Oh how she longed for better times, when everything was so much simpler, when everyone was still _alive_._

_The next day, the funeral day, it was raining. Sakura thought it was cliché, but she didn't protest, the weather was depicting her mood perfectly. _

_Kami, how she missed them already. Ino, Hinata, and TenTen had already stopped by her house the previous day to try to comfort her, but that had hardly worked. Depression had already latched onto her, its steely grip most likely wouldn't be broken for a long while._

_As they all lined up to each coffin, she silently said her prayers to them. The first she came to was Naruto's._

'Damn it... Naruto, you're the last person I'd thought would die on me. I thought you would stay with me, with all of us. Become Hokage, marry Hinata...' _She sniffed and pressed her sleeve to her eyes to __soak up the tears. _'You're making my cry, damn it. I'm going to really miss you,'

_Sai._

'Sai... The newest member of Team 7. You helped us and you didn't even know Sasuke, you did it so selflessly. But, you never knew true human emotion, everyone deserves a chance at that. I'm going to miss you too,'

_Kakashi-sensei_

'So, the great Copy-Nin has finally been bested. You did great Kakashi-sensei... You taught us all well, your legend will live on forever. It'll be so different when you're gone... No one really understood all of us like you,'

_Sasuke_

'You bastard! How selfish can you get? First you leave us all behind, and then you wipe out your best friend, your former Sensei, and the artist you didn't even know? Words cannot express how much hatred I feel,' _Her lips curled into a sneer and her arms shakes from sheer will power not to smash the coffin. _'I pity you,'

_Hours after everyone else had left, Sakura stood there shivering in the rain._

_Flashback End_

* * *

"You know, we really need bring Forehead out of that slump," Ino lazily played around with the straw of the glass in front of her. She, TenTen, and Hinata always had weekly gatherings at the cafe they were currently at. Sakura used to come too, until the incident 6 years ago. No one dared say _their _names in front of her, they didn't need her to go deeper into the slump she was still in.

"I-I agree, but, how do we do that?" Hinata looked up from the salad she was currently slowly picking at.

TenTen perked up and gave a sly smile. "If I know Ino... She's probably thinking we need to hook Sakura up with some boy, but who?"

"Well, we have to see who's not taken... I'm dating Chouji, TenTen, you're with Lee, right?" Ino received a nod from the bunned girl. "And Hinata's with Shino... So who's left?"

"Well, t-there's Kiba-kun, Shikmaru-kun, and Neji-niisan..."

TenTen shook her head, "I don't think Kiba would be one for pity. Shikamaru wouldn't care... So that leaves Neji, I don't think he would be the best choice, but it's better then none. The only problem is how to get them together?"

Suddenly, Ino smirked, "Well, Tsunade-sama is also extremely worried for our little rosy hair friend... Maybe she can assign them a mission together, we just have to tell her out reasons!" She started to laugh evilly, rubbing her hands together in a nefarious manner.

Hinata and TenTen slowly scooted their chairs away from the temporarily insane girl.

* * *

"What?"

"As I said before, Tsunade-sama would like to see you in her office for a mission," The ANBU standing infront of Sakura was unwavering, it infuriated her immensely, it was supposed to be her week off.

Sakura sighed, "Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes," She shut the door in the ANBU's face before turning away to get ready for the long day ahead of her.

Over the years, her outfit had changed once again. Gone was the happy red sleeveless top, it was instead replaced with a long sleeved mesh shirt and over that, a dark green sleeveless turtleneck. The medic skirt and shorts hadn't changed much, the skirt becoming black and the shorts staying the same. A kunai pouch was attached firmly to her upper right leg and two weapon pouches secured at waist in the back, their contents varying from scrolls to a handful of weapons.

After finally pulling on her usual leather gloves, her hands came together to form a few handsigns. Sakura reappeared in the Hokage's office. "You needed to see me, Tsunade-shishou?"

"Yes... I have a long term-mission for you, I know you love those," Tsunade received a small, hesitant nod from the girl. "But, it's not a solo mission. You'll be going with Hyuuga Neji, it's an A-Rank Mission. You'll be living in a nearby small Civilian Village and protecting them undercover, disguised as a couple, for a duration of 6 months. No protesting, he will be the captain on this mission and will fill you in all on the information you'll need to know. You'll leave in 2 hours, dismissed."

And before Sakura could protest, she was promptly pushed out of the office by Shizune, left standing there and facing the large wooden doors of the small room she was just called to. "Tch, fine," she muttered, then Shunshined back to her apartment to prepare for the long journey.

Inside the office, Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe I listened to Ino on this..." she muttered, shaking her head. "Shizune! Bring me some sake!"

* * *

Well, that's all I'll do for now, more to come later, but I'm going on vacation soon I may not be able to work on this.

I hope it's alright, I know it's not my best work, but, alright, I will try my best, peoples!

firetiger3


	2. The Flower Blooms

Alright, lemme say something. Are you going to flame me? I suggest you either do it as a guest/anonymous or PM me, though I prefer the latter. Why? Because whenever I get put down like that, I get the urge to reply and argue my point, because, really? Do YOU like to get flamed? I mean, I know I'm not the best writer, and I don't have the best ideas, and the things I write sometimes doesn't make sense! But I try, and if you're a writer, you should know ow it feels to work hard on something only for it to be put down. Besides, this is supposed to be a story, don't take it so seriously! I mean really, don't take it all to heart, I wrote these for fun, not so I could be judged. I work pretty hard on my stories, I don't put in days and days of work, but I put in a good few hours! And I do research because I hate being wrong, if something is changed in the Naruto series, I changed it because it's my story, and I do what I want, alright? Alright.

I'd love to say flames don't bother me, but that's not true. They bother me in a different way, I'm not necessarily affected by the bashing you do to me or my story, but the thing is, when I'm opposed, it just makes me want to retort with a loooonnnggg rant. And from all the practice I've had in my head, I'm damn good at it, and it'll be nice to let all the rage out.

And sometimes I'm a hypocrite, if I read a story that I really, really dislike, I may flame it, though I haven't yet. Yes, I admit I'm a hypocrite! But don't think you're better then me because of that, because at one point in your life, I bet you're done the same thing.

Now onto the story!

"Nya~" Talking

"**Nya~" Emphasis on Talking in Story**

_'Nya~' Thinking_

_Nya~ Flashback_

'Nya' Thinking in Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sakura had always been a paranoid person. So naturally, she had shoved everything she deemed necessary into a small scroll, after all, they would be there for half a year, non-parishable food in case they couldn't afford anything to buy, extra clothes incase of emergencies, among other things . And then there was the matter of her hair, a Henge would take up too much Chakra and would be detected easily. Dying her hair... No, that would be too costly to get it dyed every so often. That left her with wigs, lucky she had a few from previous missions that required such things.

After rifling through her closet for a while, Sakura finally found a suitable wig along with some contacts to hide her eyes. She took almost no time in dolling herself up, her hair was no longer short, bubbly pink, instead it was replaced with long flowing black hair while emerald eyes became baby blue, trying to look too much like a Hyuuga would raise some suspicion, not all of them had Byakugans after all.

Over the next hour and a half she checked and rechecked her supplies, taking off her disguise, it was too early to be wearing it, she would most likely put it on again when they were close to the Village. Finally, when she deemed herself ready, she set out to the Village Gates, just half an hour early.

To Sakura's surprise, Neji was already there, waiting for her. "Ah, you're finally here Sakura-san. Hokage-sama asked me to explain the rest of the mission to you as we travel,"

Sakura said nothing and followed him out of the Village. They didn't take to the trees like they normally would, instead, they walked along the side of the dirt road. She had to pack Neji's Ninja equipment into her scroll as he was to be traveling as a Civilian.

This made sense, they were supposed to be traveling as a married couple, Mr. Ryota and Mrs. Yumiko Sasaki. While Neji was to cover as a Civilian Bartender, Sakura was to be a Teacher at the nearby Ninja school. It was supposed to be a Civilian Village, but the Missing-Nin who had taken over waned to make it a Shinobi Village so powerful, it would rival the Great Leaf Village. Tsunade had already found them jobs, the clients had provided it for them, most everyone in the small town was in on it, the Missing-Nin they were after was practically running the place, crazy debts and tolls on those who left. Even a house had been provided for their long stay, they must have really wanted the man and his underlings gone.

Apparently, the trip was to take approximately two days, and at the end of they day, they detoured off the road and into the forest to make camp. They did this all in silence, after Neji had explained everything, the two hadn't said anything to each other. Both took to sitting by the fire, eating roasted fish that Neji had caught while Sakura was setting up and gathering firewood.

The two sat in silence, nibbling away at the small fish that had been slightly burned as they were stuck on sticks next to the open fire.

"Sakura-san,"

This brought the rosette out of her trance of staring into the flickering flame, she looked to the Hyuuga boy who had sat down next to her. "Ah... Yes, Neji-san?"

He sighed lightly, what he wanted to say to Sakura was something she wouldn't really appreciate, but it was necessary for the sake of the mission. "What I'm about to say will upset you Sakura-san... But it is necessary for the mission. Will you listen?" The girl gave him a small and and he continued, "I need you... To forget about them," He paused, bracing himself for the possible punch she would be throwing at him.

But it never came. Neji looked to the girl curiously, catching her eye. When he was about to open his mouth to ask her, she interrupted him.

"I know..."

At this, Neji's white eyes visibly widened, he certainly hadn't expected that. She seemed like the one to hold on to her dear ones, after all, she was attached to those four.

Sakura had seen Neji's reaction, and would have smirked if it wasn't such a serious matter, to her, that was. "I mean... I know I shouldn't hold on for so long... But, it's hard to forget them," she explained, turning away from him.

"I know I should let go, they would want me to... But, I just... Can't" Sakura couldn't explain why she was opening up to Neji of all people, she hadn't even told Ino this. Perhaps it was the fact that she didn't know Neji all that well that allowed her to spill her thoughts and troubles to him. That fact alone seemed preposterous, but somehow it made sense, Neji wasn't the type to spread rumors and since he didn't have anything against the troubled girl, wouldn't go around spreading it like a wildfire.

"And... And I know they would want me to move on, but it just hurts so much..." She clutched her chest, that familiar throb in her heart... Not that it was anything new, it appeared whenever she though about them and that was a lot.

Neji was surprised the girl had opened up to him of all people, shouldn't it be Ino, or even Hinata or TenTen who were to comfort her? But, it wasn't like he was complaining, in fact, he kinda... liked being the shoulder for her to cry on. "I understand completely Sakura," He noticed he had forgotten the formalities, but that wasn't important in the matter, forgoing formalities brought people closer. "It hurts to lose a loved one, and it probably hurts even more to lose three. It's a good thing you know they would want you to move on, but are you willing?"

There was a long pause, Sakura was debating it in her mind, trying to jut forget would hurt so much, but... It was what her Boys wanted, and she would do it for them. "I... I'll do it, I-I want to try and forget," she spoke, looking up from her gaze previously captured by the grassy floor.

The Hyuuga boy gave props to the rosette, it took a lot of courage to do something like that, especially with the bonds she had formed with them over the years.

"**Alright, Sakura. I want you to smile,"**

* * *

Was this a little too short? I just wanted to end this chapter on that line because its so suspenseful!

Ah, well, that's it for now, I'll try to update soon.

firetiger3


	3. Show Me

Ah, I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I started school on the 27th of August, and I haven't had much time for anything else from all the homework they give us! I apologize, I haven't really been working on this too much...

But, I've been brushing up on my writing skills and my brain is out of summer mode! Though that means I'll post much less frequently, expect me to post once or twice a month as opposed to at random intervals like before.

Now onto the story!

"Nya~" Talking

"**Nya~" Emphasis on Talking in Story**

_'Nya~' Thinking_

_Nya~ Flashback_

'Nya' Thinking in Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sakura cursed under her breath for the tenth time. What was so hard about smiling!? It was pure muscle memory, sure, it had been... Six years, but that didn't mean anything, she should have been able to at least give a weak little one by then.

She glanced over the the Hyuuga Prodigy. He had been patient with her so far, trying to coach her though the process, she had never expected him to be helping her so greatly. Surely he was a bit fed up by now, smiling was such a trivial thing, even the newborn babies in the nursery ward of the hospital could do so.

But he wasn't exasperated with her. In fact, he had her delicate hands clasped in his cool ones, and he was pulling her though the process. Telling her to remember the happy times she had shared with the previous Team 7, the simple D-Rank Missions they had taken together as mere Genin.

Neji was being so... Selfless. Now that was a word Sakura would have never imagined herself explaining the Byakugan Wielder as. Her vivid green eyes focused on his lip, speaking to her and fixed in a warm smile.

Sakura found herself licking her own lips, never before had she wanted to kiss someone like she did now. It wasn't the "School-Girl-Crush" type of urge, but something that meant... So much more then that.

And unconsciously, this simple thought brought a small smile to her lips.

"Sakura! You, you did it! You smiled!"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, and reeled back in surprise. "Eh? Oh I... I guess I did!"

Neji gave her a smile in return. "I'm proud of you, though I must ask... What helped you finally accomplish it?"

"Well... I guess," Sakura flushed a shade that could rival her hair, "I guess you did,"

Neji's eyes widened for a split second before he settled into his infamous smirk. Leaning in, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"**You're welcome,"**

* * *

Later that night when both were in their respective tents, Sakura sat there, fingertips pressed gently to her lips, right where Neji had kissed her. Just the thought made her flush a deep crimson. She had never imagined herself kissing Neji of all people. But, the way she felt about him was... So much different then she had ever felt for anyone else.

Sakura sat there for a while before sleep got the better of her. She sighed slightly and laid down on her sleeping bag, closing her eyes and letting the sweet song of sleep overwhelm her.

In the opposing tent, Neji sat with his head held in his hands. _'What made me do that?' _he asked himself over and over again. What exactly had compelled him to kiss Sakura? Sure, she had told him that he was the reason of her smile, but perhaps he had taken it the wrong way. Perhaps she just meant his friend ship... But... He was just overthinking this. With a huff, he rolled into his sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning was quite awkward for the both of them. They had packed up and left in silence, the only communication between the two was the chance when they had locked eyes. Both of course, had looked away quickly, but that didn't stop their minds from wandering to the other.

It took the rest of the day to make it to their destination, though they had to stop a few miles ahead to change their appearances and hide their most noticeable features. Of course the final touch would the simple gold wedding rings on their fingers, it seemed Tsunade had though of everything they would need.

Sakura was slightly uncomfortable with the fact she was to be "married" to Neji, her romantic life wasn't exactly one to be desired, and she had never taken up a mission that involved such... Things. She hesitated at first when slipping it onto her finger, but after a few deep breaths and a constant "It's for the mission" ringing in her head, she finally managed to secure it.

After flipping their (fake) passports to the guards, they passed through the large gates into the city.

Both couldn't help but let out a gasp. The city was certainly not what they were expecting at all. But, what the city really looked like was hidden behind the stone walls.

Instead of the small structures one would expect, the city was actually filled with towering structures, and half of them were aiming to be even higher. It seemed all the resources were being spent on expanding the deceiving Village. Though most noticeably, the largest buildings were ones dealing with Shinobi and Kunoichi.

Barely containing the cough lodged in her throat, Sakura smiled at her "husband". "C'mon Ryota, let's get going," she announced, using the fake names the had been given.

"Alright, alright Yumiko," he replied with a small snort. He took her hand gently in his and lead her towards the address they had been given.

After stopping a few times for directions, they had finally found the place they were looking for. It was a nice place, not to large, not to small, and from the looks of it, relatively clean. They politely knocked on the door and not to soon later a gruff, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" erupted from behind it.

The door swung open, revealing a rather large man. Instantly, his eyes lit up, "Ah, you two are finally here! Thank Kami!" He grabbed both of them and pulled them inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

His voice became rather low and both strained to hear it as opposed to his shouting beforehand. "My name is Yohei Takahashi, one of the many who hired you. Seiichi Fujikage, the Missing-Nin we had described in the scroll, has taken over and is devoting all our resources into expanding our Village and training our children to become Ninja,"

"I am Sakura Haruno, but for the sake of this mission, I will be taking the name Yumiko Sasaki. My partner is Neji Hyuuga, he will be my "husband", Ryota Sasaki," she explained with a slight bow.

Neji nodded in agreement, "I understand that we will be given jobs, shall we start tomorrow?"

"Yes, everything's been taken care of. I will personally escort you tomorrow, as for room and boarding, I will provide everything. Since people will be suspicious, please tell them you are going throug tough times and I have offered to help support you," Yohei explained, ending it with a small smile, "Well, it is getting quite late, let me show you to your room,"

He waved his hand, indicating them to follow him up the stairwell. It wound around, eventually leading to the third floor, which was actually the attic of the house. Instead of a storage area, it was fitted to be a bedroom, the bed shoved into the corner and a small desk alongside of it. A small section was walled off, the door wide open to reveal a full bathroom.

"I shall see you tomorrow. And thank you again for coming," With a bow, Yohei left them, closing the door as he left.

The two were left in an awkward silence, both staring at the one bed. It was broken by Sakura who coughed, pressing a fist to her mouth to suppress it. "I suppose we should get to sleep, we... we have a long day ahead of us," With that she excused herself, scooting slowly over to the bathroom, fingering the scroll attached to her hip.

Softly closing the door behind her, Sakura let out a deep breath, running a hand through her hair.

_'Well, this is going to go so splendidly,' _she thought sarcastically, letting the tub flow with warm water. She stripped down and slid in, letting her skin soak, ridding it of all the grim and impurities she had collected that day.

Meanwhile, Neji settled down on the edge of the bed. He had changed already, which was really just plain black pants and nothing else. His train of thought was equal to Sakura's, though on occasion it drifted back to the topic of the kiss. But every time he found himself approaching the topic, he quickly placed his mind somewhere else feeling the slight blush come to his face every time.

Half an hour later, Sakura exited the bath room, a towel half-wrapped lazily around her hair and draped onto her shoulders. "Your turn," she announced, walking over to the bed where Neji laid. When she received no answer, Sakura furrowed her eyebrows lightly and peered over.

Neji lay there, eyes closed in slumber and burrowed beneath the covers. He murmured something before rolling on his side to face her.

Sakura blinked a few times before snorting lightly. She had never imagined seeing the great Hyuuga in such a... cute state. And that was yet another word she would have never called him before then. Shaking her head, she smiled for the second time in Six Years and lightly pushed Neji over to the side, settling down next to him and falling into her own deep slumber.

* * *

Again, I'm so, so sorry I haven't posted! It's just that school's very, very overwhelming... Please forgive me!

I hope you enjoyed it, I worked on it for a few days. It was a little rushed, so there may be some mistakes, I tried to post it as fast as I could, again, I'm very sorry!

It's also short, but... Eh... I'm trying.

So, enjoy, I may not post for a while. See ya later~

firetiger3


	4. Square One

It's been quite a while since my last post, hasn't it? Well, this chapter was a little rushed, I must admit, but it's finished and finally posted!

My inspiration is dwindling, and I don't know why. My interests have been limited very recently, it's been quite a mystery to me. Perhaps it's a phase? I hope not, but I will try to work on this as much as I can. I'm working on a few other projects as well, so it'll be slow going, I'm afraid. These other stories won't be posted soon either, I'm trying to refine them as much as I can so they'll be better.

There are two names for the main Konoha Ninjas. The Rookie Nine are the three Genin Teams. The Konoha Eleven are the Three Genin Teams plus Gai's Team, minus Sasuke.

Please note, there are also different spellings for many of the character's names. I may switch, but if there is any confusion, **please tell me! **I will clear it up immediately!

Also, I forgot to name the town they're helping. I'll just give it a Japanese Name, as opposed to "The Village Hidden in the _" because, remember, they;re just becoming a Ninja Village. We'll call it "Hideki" This is a Japanese male name, and I'm not sure if it's alright to use it as the name of a town/village/city/etc, but I have no clue how to name a Japanese town/village/city/etc. Well, Hideki means "splendid opportunity"

This is mostly a reminder for myself but: Sakura is twenty-two, if you go back to the first chapter, you'll see in the flashback that it is stated Sakura was sixteen six years ago. Therefor, this will make Neji twenty-three.

There's hints of NaruSaku in this, for all you NaruSaku fans out there!

Name Meanings:

Hideki: "Splendid Opportunity"

Seiichi: "Refined First [Son]"

Ryota: "Refreshing, Strong"

Yohei: "Flat Sea"

Yumiko: Has many meanings, but I chose: "Friend, Beauty, Child"

Oh well, to the story!

"Nya~" Talking

"**Nya~" Emphasis on Talking in Story**

_'Nya~' Thinking_

_**'Nya~' Inner Sakura**_

_Nya~ Flashback_

'Nya' Thinking in Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sakura woke up first that next morning. The sun peeked through the cracks in the blinds, shining directly into her eyes. She yawned, rubbing the corners of her eyes and sitting up on the bed. After taking a short pause to collect her thoughts, she looked down at the sleeping Hyuuga next to her.

It was lucky she hadn't found them in an awkward position. Sakura had found herself to be the clingy type, ever since that mission, back when she was 15, almost seven years ago. They, they being Team 7, had been caught in quite a nasty storm, a quick journey that only would have taken a few hours had suddenly transformed into a two day trip. It was lucky Sakura had thought to bring a tent as opposed to no one having one at all, but all four of them shoved in there for one and a half days was almost more trouble then it was worth.

_Flashback Begin_

_Sakura flinched as a rather large drop of rain splashed right onto nose. She ignored it of course, she had trained in a light drizzle before. However, she did spare a look up into the sky, just to predict the coming weather._

_Large gray storm clouds were covering the sky, looming over them, almost threateningly. Sakura let out a small hiss, this wouldn't be good, they were due back at Konoha in a day, and if there was a storm, that could delay them. Plus they couldn't send a messenger Hawk out in the storm either..._

_Almost an hour later, the storm became unbearable, and Kakashi had stopped them. "Does any one have a tent?"_

_His voice was barely audible over the loud cracks of thunder approaching quickly. "Ah, I do!" Sakura had shouted back after a small pause. Slipping out a small scroll from her belt, she quickly bit her thumb and revealed the tent, already set up in advance._

_They all tumbled into it, dripping water onto the floor. They stayed in silence for a while before Naruto finally shouted out, "Well, at least we're out of the storm!"_

_And they laughed, well, except for Sai, who had a his normal (and obviously fake) smile plastered onto his face as always. They ended up telling corny jokes for the rest of the night, right after they had used a Jutsu to dry themselves off, up until they fell asleep._

_The next morning, it was still raining, unfortunately, and Sakura found herself waking the the steady drum of thick droplets clattering against the tent. She stayed there for a few seconds before realizing the position she had shifted into. _

_Sometime during the night, she had, well, grabbed onto Naruto who had collapsed right next to her. Her right arm was shamelessly thrown over his chest while her left had a strong grip in his bright orange jumpsuit._

_And Naruto, in turn, had a hand wrapped protectively around her waist while the other acted as a makeshift cushion for his head. He seemed to not have noticed quite yet, though, much to her relief._

_When Sakura realized the position they were in, she immediately threw his hand off her and brought her limbs to her own body, holding them to herself, almost as if protecting them. A light blush stained her cheeks and her heart pounded in her chest. It wasn't that she didn't like Naruto, she just loved him in a different way. Hell, he was like a brother to her!_

_Lucky for her, the others woke up soon, not leaving her to be the only one awake. The storm ended up staying for half the day, finally dying down so they could finish their mission. _

_They didn't talk about the mission again, it wasn't exactly important enough to bring up in everyday conversation. But still, Sakura couldn't help but wonder, did Naruto know what had happened that night?_

_Flashback End_

By the time Sakura snapped out of her memories, Neji was awake and giving her a puzzled look. "Is something wrong, Sakura-san?"

At this, Sakura stiffened, so, they were back to formalities now? She should have known that what had happened the other day would have made things awkward between them. "I'm fine, Neji-san. Please excuse me while I prepare for the day ahead of us," And with that, she slid off the bed and grabbed her clothes. Coldly, she stalked into the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind her.

Neji sat there for a while, he could tell something was wrong, he just... couldn't... put his finger on it... Perhaps it was something he said, or... Suddenly, he came to a realization. Sakura was mad about the kiss, at least, that's what it seemed like... And it didn't make it any better that he had let a formality slip into her name just a little while ago.

He let out a sigh, well, it was no help sitting around waiting for nothing. Reluctantly, he stood and began to dress himself, shedding his sleepwear for his usual attire. His outfit was that of a civilian of course, as was his role, but in all honesty, it had been quite a while since he had worn such... Restricting attire. A button-up shirt, dress pants, and a tie, was its entirety, though he barely knew how to tie a tie, was able to manage to, albeit it was a little crooked.

Fumbling with the damn frustrating piece of cloth, Neji could feel a hand resting on his shoulder. Immediately, he tensed, he knew it was Sakura's hand, no doubt, but what was she going to do to him? She was in a bad mood already, was she intending to incapacitate him in any way?

"Oi," she snapped, bringing him out of his uneasy thoughts. "Take a shower, you reek," With that, she turned away and exited the room, plunking softly down the stairs.

At this, Neji winced, ah, right he hadn't taken a shower in a while, even going to bed last night without so much as a rinsing down. Naturally, he hurried to the bathroom, taking a quick shower before rushing down the stairs, hurriedly preparing himself for the day ahead of them. Sure, Yohei hadn't specified a time to wake, but he had a feeling that the bars around the town would be open pretty early.

By the time Neji had finally made it to the kitchen, everyone was waiting for him, much to his embarrassment. Yohei handed him a cup of what he presumed was coffee, something he confirmed after he took a long whiff. He nodded his thanks, taking a drawn-out sip before setting the now empty mug aside.

"Are you two ready?" Yohei asked, looking over the two of them. Both were dressed for their jobs, Sakura as a Ninja Instructor and Neji as a Bartender. He gave them a approving nod before pushing open the door to reveal them to them to their proud little town, Hideki.

Sakura had to admit, the city looked better in the sunlight then in the dark. Even though it was just being improved, it was already looking splendid. Making the towers even higher would make the landscape, well, ugly. But, that wasn't her concern, once they took out this, Seiichi, everything would go back to normal. Well, whatever "normal" was in this town.

As the three of them walked down the dirt streets, Yohei began to explain the history of Hideki to them. "Long ago, when our Village was being built, our ancestor's original intention was to create a getaway for all to begin new lives, whoever they were. That's why they decided to name this place "Hideki." For the first few years, everything was fine, people seemed to like the idea of starting over, moving to a place where no one cared who you were before, a place where you could start over from scratch. Thus, the population steadily grew and everything was well, jobs were created, food was prosperous, and the people were happy.

But all good times have to come to an end, you see. After a while, the economy took a change for the worse, people lost jobs, there was a drought, and people were in despair. Everything seemed dim, until a certain man came. He was quite the charmer, a handsome one who stood tall at 6'1''. With strikingly gold eyes and messy brown hair, he was the heart throb of all the young girls. This man, Seiichi Fujikage, had taken our Village by storm. Everyone loved him, he was kind, smart, strong, well, you get the point.

We knew nothing about Seiichi's past, and since our Village was about new beginnings, no one even bothered to ask. If we had known, we would have never let him change out Village to what fits his dreams.

Anyway, he proposed a plan, a plan to bring our Village out of the shadows of its former glory. But he told us for his plan to work, we would have to give him complete and utter control of the Village. And, though it sounded like a good idea at the time, we did.

That, my dear friends, was a mistake. As soon as he was given power, he changed our Village completely, and we could do nothing about it. Our people Hideki was changed into a Ninja Village. We protested, but he didn't heed us and proceeded with his plan.

For a while, our economy got even worse, he was giving what little we still had to completely change the Village. After a while, the economy picked up again, but just a little. We had enough food, most people got their jobs back, but Seiichi's tyrannical rule wasn't over, he began to take even the youngest of kids and imported Senseis to teach them the Ninja arts.

It's only been a few years since that, but everyone agrees, Seiichi has overstayed his welcome in Hideki, and his termination is of highest importance to all of us,"

There was a slight pause and Yohei wondered if he had offended them in some sort. He flushed and began to stutter an apology, "A-ah, I so-"

"No," Neji interrupted, holding up a hand to silence the poor man. "It would be our honor if you would allow us to help you with the elimination of Seiichi Fujikage,"

**Inner Sakura rolled her eyes, 'There goes those damn Hyuuga manners again. Honestly, if he acted like this 24/7 you'd think he was the Prince himself,'**

_'Shush, it's better to be a gentleman than a complete asshole,' _Sakura reprimanded, though it didn't show on the outside, instead, she gave a nod of reassurance. Of course, some sort of smile backing it up would have been helpful, but as soon as she tried, her muscles seemed to not want to listen. _'Dammit! I just had it yesterday! What the hell happened?!'_

**'I think you're forgetting something, sweetie, now that you and the Prince here are at an icy distance, you're back to square one. Remember? He's the whole reason you smiled again... Or, you know, some fluffy shit like that,'**

Sakura could have slapped herself right there and then. Of course! How could she have not known earlier?! But she remained as emotionless as usual, keeping up the air of indifference surrounding her at all times. Letting such a thing falter surely would bring suspicion about.

Neji gave a sideways glance at the girl, er, woman, standing beside him. The irritation was pouring off her in waves, though Yohei seemed to not notice at all.

Not that he expected the civilian to notice. He was caught up in his own little world, rambling on about how terrible this Seiichi guy was. But really, enough was enough, Neji understood from the first story.

Stealing another look at Sakura, Neji stopped himself from asking what troubled her. For all he knew, he could be the root of the problem, and he probably was, considering what happened just that morning. Ultimately, he decided, a day teaching kids would calm her down. They would probably be less irritating.

"Well, here's your stop, Ryota-san!" Yohei chimed. Well, at least he had remembered his fake name and not used his real one.

Neji smiled his thanks before taking a look at the bar he was to work at. The sign read "The Ocean's Mistress" followed by a painting of a mermaid. It didn't look too trashy, considering other bars they had passed along the way, that was... But what really concerned him was the short line of people waiting outside already.

He supposed it made sense, people tended to drink away their problems than actually try to fix it, but a line outside the door? Ridiculous.

That didn't stop him from pushing past the people and letting himself in. "Hello?" he called out, half expecting no answer. The place was barely lit anyway, perhaps he came too early?

An elderly woman rushed out the back, flattening the wrinkles out of her blouse "I'm sorry, we're no- Oh! You must be the new bartender! I'm Natsuko, your new boss!" ((A/N: Her names means "Summer Child"))

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Neji responded, "I'm Ryota Sasaki." He took the chance to look around the place properly. It was a decent place, not too shabby, but not too nice either. "Ah, I understand my role, I don't require any training," he suddenly remembered.

The old woman paused before giving a solemn nod. "We thank you for your help, Ryota-kun, though I know that's most likely not your real name," she grinned mischievously. "I'll try to make your stay as enjoyable as possible! But now's the time to meet your co-workers! Izanami! Takumi! Get out here!" ((A/N: Izanami: "Female Who Invites" This name describes her very well. It will become evident later. Takumi: "Artisan"))

Almost at once, two figures burst out, one from the kitchen, the other from the break room. "Here!" they chorused, pushing at each other to gain attention from the elderly woman.

"Meet our newest part of the family..."

* * *

"See you later Yumiko-san! I'll be picking you up around 6!" And with that, Yohei had left her at the "Hideki Ninja Academy" alone and surrounded by a bunch a kids.

Sakura flinched as one toddler practically screeched into her ear.

Nope. Scratch that, brats.

_'Well, might as well get this over with,' _Sakura sighed, gently placing the toddler who had climbed on her back onto the ground. She had no trouble finding the main office, in fact, she would have had trouble not finding the place. With a large sign painted a neon pink and green, it was almost painful to the eyes.

Actually, scratch that too, it hurt like a bitch to look at it. Sakura rolled her eyes and entered the office, coming face to face with the Principal.

"Well hello there! You must be Yumiko Sasaki! It's nice to meet you, my name is Masahiro," the man chirped, the grin on his face way to fake to even be considered real. ((A/N: Masahiro: "Justice Prospers"))

**'Well, there goes "The Principal is always your PAL",' Inner muttered.**

Sakura mentally shook her head, _'It seems Seiichi-san must have bribed him. If this... Masahiro-san is as fake as he seems, we won't be able to trust him in anything,'_

"It's very nice to meet you Masahiro-san. I understand I am to be a Sensei here, is there a particular class I will be assigned to?" Sakura asked after giving the man a slight bow.

"Please, please, no formalities Yumiko, now, walk with me. I'll be explaining everything you need to know!" Boldly, the man grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her out the door. "Here at the Hideki Ninja Academy, we strive to teach all our students to become the very best! But of course there are rules, let me explain..."

"... And that sums it up!"

By the time the man had finally stopped talking, they arrived at the front of her classroom, "16-A", named for the fact that she would be teaching sixteen year-olds. It seemed like a little late for them to be learning to become Shinobi and Kunoichi, but, she decided against saying anything.

"Thank you Masahiro-sa-, I mean, Masahiro," Sakura said giving the man a wave before pushing open the door to her new classroom.

The room of noisy teenagers suddenly grew silent as their new teacher stepped into the classroom. There were a few hushed whispers every here and there, but the rest of them stared attentively at her.

"**Good morning, class. My name is Yumiko Sasaki, and I will be your new Sensei,"**

* * *

I typed, like, all that in a whole day. That's how much I care about you guys. Well, what little amount of people still read this story.

But don't worry! I plan to see this out to the very end! I already discontinued one story, and I swore to myself I wouldn't ever again.

This chapter was at least 3,000 words, I'm so happy! The others were around 1,000. I'm just glad I had the patience to type all that.

**I'd like to take the time and thank all the people that have given me inspiration so far, my readers and my reviewers! I actually love reading the reviews left, it makes me smile! Thank you so much, this is a HUGE shout-out and thanks to all of you!**

**In honor of the people who inspired me thus far, I will attempt to write you something and I will be naming people! I just thank you so much!  
**

I hope to update soon. I know I always say that, but honestly, school, a social life, grades, sports, family, it's all hard to juggle. I hope you understand...

Thanks ever so much!

firetiger3


	5. Christmas Intermission

Oh dear, It's been quite a while since I last updated, eh? As usual, I'm terribly sorry. I have exams in my school and I've just gotten a dog!

He's just a puppy, so I've had to spend a lot of time with him, he's very energetic!

Anywho... This is kinda like a intermediate chapter. It's set during Christmas, a few months into the future of where the story currently is. Sakura, Neji., and Yohei are closer now, formalities have changed.

Consider it a Christmas present! So... Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, or Merry Kwanzaa! Whatever you celebrate!

This chapter will be the characters celebrating Christmas, I don't mean to offend anyone who celebrates any other holidays during this time. Please forgive me!

Name Meanings:

Hideki: "Splendid Opportunity"

Seiichi: "Refined First [Son]"

Ryota: "Refreshing, Strong"

Yohei: "Flat Sea"

Yumiko: Has many meanings, but I chose: "Friend, Beauty, Child"

Natsuko: "Summer Child"

Izanami: "Female Who Invites"

Takumi: "Artisan"

Masahiro: "Justice Prospers"

Characters So Far:

Well, if you're like me, you constantly forget who the Ocs are in a story, so here's a list of some of the names you may not recognize.

Hideki – Name of the town

Seiichi Fujikage – Missing Nin. Currently running Hideki

Ryota Sasaki – Neji's undercover name

Yohei Takahashi – Sakura and Neji's Host

Yumiko – Sakura's undercover name

Natsuko – Owns Bar Neji works in

Izanami – Worker in Natsuko's Bar

Takumi – Worker in Natsuko's Bar

Masahiro – Principal of School Sakura works in

"Nya~" Talking

"**Nya~" Emphasis on Talking in Story**

_'Nya~' Thinking_

_**'Nya~' Inner Sakura**_

_Nya~ Flashback_

'Nya' Thinking in Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

"Merry Christmas Yumiko-chan!" Yohei barreled into her, catching the poor girl in a tight hug. "I got you the greatest gift!, but I can't tell you 'cause it's a secret! What's you get me!?"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura, or rather, Yumiko, deadpanned, struggling out of her current host's restricting grip. "I don't celebrate Christmas. Give my present to Ryota or something,"

Yohei's eyes widened drastically, "Don't celebrate Christmas?! Where's your Christmas spirit Yumiko-chan? Where's your love for the cookies and presents and tree decorating!? I-It's insanity! We need to get you into the Christmas mood, I'm taking you to look at the Christmas Tree in Central Park!" Taking Sakura's hand, he began to drag her out the door.

"Wait, Yohei! S-Stop it!" she protested, but the man showed no intentions of letting go of her hand anytime soon. Before she was forced out the door, she managed to grab her winter coat and yell up to stairs, "Royta! Yohei and I will be out for a while. We'll be back soon enough!"

* * *

"I apologize for earlier, Yumiko-chan... But Christmas is such a joyous time, I just wanted you to celebrate with us during this time. Is there... Is there a reason you don't celebrate Christmas?" Yohei wrapped her thick scarf tighter around himself, too ashamed to look her in the eyes.

Sakura let out a small sigh, "It's all right, I did used to so love the Christmas time, just like you... But." She paused, biting her lip, but began to continue. "As I was saying, I did love Christmas, but. When I was young, around twelve, I used to always spend it with the rest of Team Seven. I haven't celebrated since. It's... It's a pretty stupid, right? I guess I just cling so much to the past...

Frowning, Yohei crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly downward in thought. Suddenly, his head snapped upwards, "Oh I know!" He grabbed Sakura's hands and gave her a smile. "We'll create a whole new memory of Christmas for you! It'll make you happy instead of sad because Ryota-kun and I won't be going anywhere!"

Sakura paused before her eyes softened, "Thank you Yohei, but you don't have to go through all this for me. Besides, I don't think Ryota would help at all, he never seemed like the Christmasy type,"

"No... I think he would help us... But let's not dwell on that. We should be getting home soon, less he start worrying about us."

_'What do you think, Inner?'_

_**'Me? Personally? It will be better for you. Really now... You have to let of of the past, it's not healthy for you. And since we're one and the same, it'll be bad for me too,'**_

_'… Well, I suppose you're right. For once. Let's see how this plays out first though,'_

* * *

"Ryota-kun! We're back!" Yohei yelled as he burst through the door. "We have lots of planning to do in preparation for Christmas! We have to get a tree, hand to lights..." He continued listing their chores for a while, eventually being tuned out by both Neji and Sakura.

"It seems Yohei has lots planned for Christmas, I wonder why. It is a fun Holiday. But most of these festivities were designed to fit the children," Neji muttered as Sakura took a seat beside him on the couch. "However, it has been I while since I've taken a part in... "decorating the tree" "

Sakura nodded slightly, "Yes, same here. I haven't taken a part in Christmas since I was twelve. Yohei seems determined to get me back in the... "Christmas Spirit" or so he calls it. Perhaps it will be a good thing, though. I don't think I will mind,"

Neji smiled into the cup of coffee he was holding, _'It seems Sakura has always had a dismal past. Just like the rest of the famous Team Seven, hers just took place later than the rest. It will be good to get her mind off things,'_ Taking a small sip of coffee, he gave a questioning look to Yohei, mentally asking to older man about his plans.

And as if reading his mind, Yohei put a single finger to his lips and winked, mouthing the words "It's a secret," Luckily this action was missed by Sakura, who had taken to watching the local news, a hourly update on recent developments in the city.

"Oh what's this?" the news reporter exclaimed, reaching out for a bulletin handed to her by a staff member."It seems that Seiichi-sama has ordered the shut down of Christmas! All decorations relating to this Holiday are to be taken down immediately, either public or private, and anyone caught celebrating will be immediately exiled. And that's all for the Afternoon Update!"

"You-You're kidding! This can't be, right? He... He can't just shut down Christmas, right!? Right!?" Yohei panicked, wringing his hands wildly. "This was, this was supposed to be the greatest Christmas ever! It can't just shut it down like this! It's-It's not fair!"

"Life's not fair,"

"E-eh?Yu-Yumiko-chan, how can you say that...?"

"It was a nice thought, Yohei, trying so hard for the celebrations," Sakura's eyebrows turned upward slightly to attempt to express her sympathy. (Well, what little of it she had for him, anyways)"But Life's not fair at all. If Christmas is prohibited, then it was just meant to be. It's not like we can do anything about it. If you need me I'll be in my room," And with that, she tossed the TV remote aside and stalked to her room, not looking back at them once.

The uncomfortable silence surrounding the two was unbearable. Yohei was staring after Sakura, jaw dropped while Neji had ignored them yet again, watching more TV.

Breaking the tense quietness, Neji took an uncharacteristically large sip of coffee, causing Yohei to finally tear his gaze from the stairs to him. "Don't feel bad, Yohei," he comforted. Setting the mug onto a coaster, he continued, "You tried your best, but there's nothing either of us can do now,"

After a short pause, the older man let out a rather depressed sigh. "Yeah... I suppose so..." he concluded, trudging off to go sulk somewhere in a lonesome corner.

Neji sat there by himself, well, him and his cup of coffee, that is. As much as it seemed that he didn't rather care about whether Christmas was to go on or not, it was actually quite the opposite. He was formulating a plan, like the Hyuga genius he was, to carry out their own private little Christmas. Eh... It was, as Shikamaru would put it, quite troublesome.

And yet, he was going through with it. As weird as it sounded (To him, at least), he did care a lot for the two of them, Yohei seemed almost like an older brother, a childish one at that... And Sakura?

Neji paused in his train of though. Actually, he wasn't quite sure where he stood with Sakura. She was very caring and nurturing (Even if it didn't exactly seem like it), as a Medic-Nin should be, almost as a motherly type, but labeling her that title didn't seem to sit right with him.

A younger sister, maybe? Hmm, closer... But that didn't seem to fit quite right either. Neji knew he cared for Sakura deeply, that much he understood. If not a sister to him, then what else?

Traveling on that plain of thought, Neji sat there in silence for a while, occasionally taking a small sip from the now luke-warm mug in his hands. Mother and sister were definitely out, he decided. Friend wasn't as close as a relation that could describe it...

And it dawned on him.

Neji could feel his face flush and he almost dropped his mug. Key word, almost. And why was he acting this way? He placed the mug aside and slapped his hands over his face, almost comically so. He had realized where Sakura stood to him.

For the first time in his life, Neji Hyuga had a crush on someone.

And that someone was Sakura Haruno.

Oh, just imagine the beating Lady Tsunade would be giving him if she ever found out about this. Sakura was her precious student after all, hell, she had loved the girl so much it was a surprise she hadn't adopted her yet. Oh dear Kami... What had he gotten himself into...?

* * *

Sakura sat under the covers of her and Neji's bed, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. "Perhaps I went to far... It was wrong of me to act so cold and harsh like that, they were only trying to help me out after all," she said out loud, not caring if anyone could hear her.

_**'Hmm, I'll admit, that wasn't a very bright move, girly. It's true they only tried to help you, and what about our conversation before on forgetting the past? It seems that's gone to waste too. You need to fix it, do something, anything!'**_

Sakura sighed, Inner was right (In which, Inner injected, _**'Of course I am!'**_), but what could she do to help?

_'I've had enough of your constant lecturing, just help me out, what do I do...? Something that'll let them forgive me for snapping at them like that,'_

_**'Oh my-!' Inner cut herself off just then, letting out a rather loud sigh, obviously annoyed with her Outer Self. 'Can't believe you can't figure this about by yourself. I'm you for Kami's sake! Alright, alright, here's what you can do to save Christmas. Just like some cliché Holiday Special,'**_

_'Just get on with it already!'_

_**'Okay, okay! Geez... Just create your own private Christmas for the three of you. Nothing big, since that'll attract attention. Just get gifts, you might not even have to wrap them. Anything else will make people suspicious and you'll get arrested and blow your cover,'**_

There was a pause, a rather long one too... _'Inner, you're a genius!'_

_**'Well, I always knew we were smarter than all the re-'**_

_'We'll just have to make do with stuff laying around the house. But what could they possibly want for presents...?'_

* * *

Bright and early the next day, Neji found himself walking along the city streets, searching for something, anything that could represent the Holiday mood without drawing too much attention to himself. Tch, curse that Seiichi for outlawing Christmas!

He passed by quite a number of stores, even going into some of them in a futile attempt to find a present for Yohei and Sakura. In all honesty, he had no idea what to get the two of them. In theory, the "Secret Christmas" Idea had seemed pretty easy to carry out, if he was careful. But now that he had started, it was proving quite difficult after all.

Continuing to walk down the brick walkway, Neji caught sight of something that may satisfy the two he was shopping for. He looked up at the sign of the store and let out an irritated sigh.

And here he was, shopping for two grown adults in a children's toy store. Now, why wasn't he surprised?

Surrounded by screaming brats and their rather inattentive parents, Neji was certainly not in a good mood. He was having quite a hard time concentrating when there was an army of kids climbing all over him.

This is why he didn't envy Sakura's job as a teacher.

As Neji roamed the store's multiple aisles, he began to wonder why the store had drawn him in in the first place, as of then he didn't see anything too particularly interesting to buy...

Just as he was about to leave, he saw the perfect present, or rather, presents. Picking the items of his interest up gently (Though it really wasn't something delicate or brittle...), Neji hurried to the cashier to pay and leave the store before anything could happen to his precious gifts.

* * *

But right across the street, Sakura was having the same problem as her legal husband was having just moments earlier. As much time as she spent with the Neji and Yohei, shehad absolutely no idea what to get them.

_**'Great job there, Outer, we had to all planned out until you had to go brain dead on their presents. Wonderful, just absolutely wonderful!'**_

_'Shut up Inner, you're me, so you went brain dead too. Besides, if I find something, I'll know it when I see it. It will have to be the perfect present!'_

_**'Oh, oh, even more fantastic! You're relying on your instinct to find them something that will save their Christmas, look at how smart you are, you little genius, you!'**_

Sakura huffed and refused to reply, mentally locking Inner's mouth shut so she could concentrate. "Now, what to do, what to do..." she murmured to herself once she had peace of mind. "If only they were easier to shop for..." She reminded herself that this was the only Christmas they would be spending together, by next year, with any luck, Seiichi would have been taken down and jailed, if not killed.

She hadn't gone into any stores yet, none had really sparked her interest yet, and besides, they were all clothing stores. Handbag stores, tourist shops, a few designer stores, nothing that held any interest for any type of Christmas present, for her tastes, at least.

By the time Sakura was at the near end of the large shopping mall, she had partially given up hope already. She must have passed **at least **a hundred stores, if not more, and hadn't visited a single one of them. Plus she was getting hungry, she had foolishly skipped breakfast that morning and it was getting close to lunch time.

As Sakura was about to turn around, she saw a small store in the very back corner of the hall. It was open, that was for sure, a small neon sign hung limply in the store's window. She crept closer to it, noting that there was no sign claiming the store's name, how odd...

Against her better judgment, she entered the store. A few other people who weren't working there roaming the small shop, picking up the small, and very interesting, gadgets the store had to off.

_'Oh yes, this is the store!'_

* * *

Christmas Morning~

Neji would be lying if he said he wasn't excited. He was ecstatic, even. The presents were safely hidden in the wardrobe, under a pile of his clothes. It was lucky Sakura respected his privacy and didn't go snooping about, unless, or course, for a mission, but that was something completely different.

Ah, that was off topic, though. He slid out of bed, careful not to wake his wife who was curled up next to him, back facing his way.

She was cute, he thought, well, when she wasn't strung up about something or in the midst of battle. But even then she was beautiful, the way she moved was absolutely graceful, something he knew was a trait only attributed to Medics. After all, they were drilled to never be hit in the line of battle. The next thing he knew, his face flushed and he hurried to stumble away from Sakura's sleeping figure.

_'Damn it! I'm supposed to be a professional. This is a mission, Hokage-sama just made us a married couple for the sake of being inconspicuous. Married couples tend to be a little more credible,'_

Coughing lightly and trying to suppress the now fading blush, he went to take a shower before the day would begin, after all, planning and carrying out such a huge and secret plan like this took a lot of work. And if he was going to put that much effort into something, might as well make sure everything went perfectly.

Not too soon after he had entered the bathroom, Sakura slowly woke up from her slumber. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she yawned. Ah, so today was Christmas, right? She could tell the day was doing to be a good day, even if she wasn't going to "save the Holidays". It was bright and sunny out, there was even snow lightly falling. A good few inches had accumulated too, some children who had woken early were already having a snowball fight.

As the sound of water running came to a slow halt, Neji stepped out of the bathroom only seconds later, a fluffy white towel hanging around his neck. "Ah, Yumiko, you're up, the bathroom's all yours," He gave her a soft smile, patting her head lightly before gently pushing her towards the bathroom.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sakura nodded lightly, picking up a spare change of clothes from the dresser before entering the bathroom. Hopefully there would still be some hot water left for her...

* * *

Some time later, when she had finished her own shower, Sakura had found herself in an empty room with the smell of bacon wafting up from downstairs. In a hurry, she grabbed the paper bag that held the presents she had bought for the two of them and rushed downstairs, hoping to snag a decent breakfast before it was all gone.

She managed to stumble down the stairs, popping up in the kitchen and sitting up at the table. It was a wonderful sight in front of her, waffles, egg, bacon, and of course, sausage. Her mouth practically watered as she stared at the wonderful feast before her. After all, the past months they had been living off of oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and the occasional times they had a chance to eat out.

Yohei gave them a weak smile as he placed the last plate of food in front of them. "Even if Christmas is banned, we can still eat like we're celebrating. After all, everyday we have is a gift, ne?"

Neji coughed lightly, drawing their attention to him. "Ah, yes... Um," He sighed, composing himself before he continued. "Well, I thought... That since Yohei was looking so forward to this time of the year, we could have out own secret Christmas. I'm sorry I couldn't set up a tree or lights, but I was able to get you both something," And from out of nowhere, he produced two small gifts, both plainly wrapped, but for some reason seemed even more special then it would have if it was just a regular Christmas gift.

"I... I um," Sakura paused in surprise as Neji handed her a gift. "I had the same idea actually, I bought some presents for you as well," And just as Neji had, she produced her gifts to them, similarly wrapped and their names written in bright, bold letters. "Ah, please, open mine first, I didn't know exactly what to get you two, but I think I managed to find something that would be appropriate,"

Yoehi was gushing rivers of tears from his eyes, sobbing loudly. "Yumiko-chan! Ryota-kun!" he weeped, pulling both into a tight hug. He calmed down slightly after both had began patting his back reassuringly. "Thank you so much, this means so much to me!" Cautiously, he opened Sakura's present first, a shot glass with a drink mixer and a kunai and shuriken set.

Sakura quickly explained the strange gift. "A-Ah, well, you see, um... I know Ryota and I won't be around forever. They're meant to symbolize, well, us, so you won't forget us. We do come from elsewhere, you know... And we'll try and visit, of course, but... As well, Ninja, we don't have much free time,"

"No need for such explanation, Yumiko-chan! I love the present you gave me. It will always remind me of the two of you, I'll treasure it forever!," Yohei smiled and ran off to place the items on a shelf somewhere in the living room.

At first, Neji was too surprised to say anything, had the two of them really thought of the same plan...? But he snapped out of it at once, giving her a warm smile. "Thank you, Yumiko. Even if there isn't any mistletoe, I think we could make this work" he chuckled, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Sakura flushed, "B-Baka, just open your damn present," she scolded harshly.

"Alright, alright," he replied, carefully opening the present. In his palms laid a mechanical bird, made purely out of metal. It was painted quite intricately painted and had a small wind up key sticking out of its back. Curious, he began to twist it until he heard a soft click.

The bird began to move, its wings flapping back and forth while its beak began to move, letting a sweet tune float out of its beak as its mechanical key continued to twist.

Neji couldn't help but stare, it was a beautiful bird, the way the parts moved all in motion intrigued him."Thank you, Sakura," he used her real name, though said it a little hushed than the words he had said before. "Thank you," he repeated.

There was small pause of silence, making it rather awkward for the two. Sakura reached out and brought him into a hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulders. "You're welcome," she finally replied in a soft voice. "You're welcome,"

Later on, when Yohei had returned, he opened his gift from Neji, a picture frame. He looked curiously at Neji, who just replied with taking a photo of the three of them and handing the copy to him.

"Another memory," he explained with a laugh. "We really don't want you to forget about us!"

Sakura had opened hers once Yohei had returned after putting that memory on yet another shelf. Out of the tissue paper, she pulled out three stuffed bunnies. Two of them, one with tinted pink fur, were holding hands, and the other was smiling brightly and glasses just like Yohei's.

Neji came up behind Sakura and pulled her into some sort of hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. "So you can remember our time here with Yohei, and that we're a family," he explained.

What was with all this "Memories"? Sakura was tempted to shout out, but refrained. Perhaps it was a good thing, this was one of the times of her life that she wished to never forget.

And she smiled. "Thank you, Neji," She had softly whispered his name too, turning her head upward to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you,"

And in reply, Neji simply smiled, "You're welcome," he said at first, them turned her around to place a kiss on her lips.

"**You're welcome,"**

* * *

Whoo, finally done with this chapter, or rather, intermission! It's not really part of the story, just a side story, I suppose.

Also, I noticed I tend to make Sakura have a really depressing past. I guess it's just because I like to have Neji comfort her. I always did like hurt/comfort stories, so I'm writing one right now.

I meant to post this a little earlier, either before or during Christmas. Well, the decorations at my house are still up, so I guess it kinda counts...? I remember writing this, then I had exams, so I did forget about it for a while, so, sorry... Again..

My New Years Resolution is to try and post more, I feel I've been severely lacking in my updates, it's not fair to the few people who read my stories. But... I'm very thankful for all of you!

So if they are any spelling or grammar errors, I'm terribly sorry, please forgive them and I'll try to correct them on my next chapter, whenever it comes.

So until next time!

firetiger3


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